


to know you for one more day

by shinelikethestars



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, i'll add more in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-02 22:43:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinelikethestars/pseuds/shinelikethestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's life was falling apart. Nothing was going his way and one night he finds himself in an alley at an ungodly two in the morning. From then on, his life changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was just an idea I thought of a few days ago. I love the idea and plan on updating the next chapter soon. I hope you all enjoy and give me feedback if you like. Have a wonderful day/night. 
> 
> ~shinelikethestars

Harry was walking down an old, decrepit alley, littered in trash, false hopes, and aged disappointments. The time was an ungodly two am it was freezing cold outside. His tears were nothing but frozen streams on his flushed cheeks and any more held within his eyes refuse to leave the brim. The breath that did manage to escape his lips was illuminated by the moonlight and the only noise he made was a distant, occasional sigh. His head was held low as he kicked a lonesome can, his hands tucked away inside his hoodie pocket, struggling to keep warm. 

His life was pretty shit to say the least. His sister detested him, and his mom practically disowned him. His friends, could he even give them the title? It was all thanks to the videos he posted on the internet. He was considered to be ‘youtube famous’ and got paid for his videos, but hated it when people would call him a ‘sellout.’ He’d only been doing vlogs and the occasional tag video for two years. In the short span of time, he felt as though he’d made a major mistake and wanted to erase his choices. The last video he posted, spoke of his personal life, which was a sore subject because time and time again; he was firmly told by his family to never discuss it. His viewers had been itching to know more about him, wondering why he’d kept the explanation of who he was so vague. They eventually got what they wanted, and that was the product of being the cringe-worthy word, ‘sellout.’ 

"Was it worth it?" he whispered against the bitter cold. "Was it lad?" Harry’s head shot up and his eyes darted every which way for the mysterious voice. "Down here," the voice said, and as instructed Harry lowered his glance towards the ground. And sure enough, there was an elderly man looking worse for wear. The clothes against the elderly man’s skin was tattered and in the dim light his skin could be seen as pale and clammy. Harry wanted to ask how the man ended up on the ground, but as he went to open his mouth, the man began to make several poor attempts at standing up. Harry tried to help but took a step back when the man held his hand up in the air, showing clear indication he didn’t wish to be helped. And after what felt like minutes, the man was standing to the best of his abilities, "Damn body can’t even do the one task I paid for…" the man rambled, and the comment itself threw Harry for a loop. He raised an eyebrow and wondered why he was still standing in front of a man who was clearly senile. 

"Harry Styl-" the man was close to speak Harry’s full name, but the gasp Harry made cut the man off. Goosebumps began to elect upon Harry’s skin, "H-How do you know my name? W-who are you?" he was beginning to stumble through his words.

"My name doesn’t matter to you, I’m just here to grant wishes. Now, was it worth it?" Harry was frozen in his spot, speechless, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t run away. "Come on now, I’m a busy man. Was your choice to succumb to your ‘fame’ worth it? Having your own mother and sister hate you, not having true friends. Are you happy with the choices you’ve made?" 

"Umm," Harry tried, he was seriously lost for words. "Umm isn’t a word Harry. Hurry now, I’ve got business to attend to." Harry found the sudden ability to move his lanky limbs and slowly crossed his feet. He sighed as he allowed his head to fall for a brief moment, before raising it back up toward the man’s eyes, "I’m not so sure."

The man draws a smile and inches closer to Harry’s face, reaching his hand out and grabbed hold of Harry’s chin, “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. What if I told you, that I could help you out of your little predicament?” Harry backed away from the odd man’s grasp and crinkled his nose, “Why should I believe you? You’re just a crazy old man, you don’t even know me.” Harry spat, putting his lips in a thin line. The elderly man scoffed at that and took a strained step back, “Of course I know you, let me prove it. Your family, they’re not so happy with you at the moment, am I right?” Harry didn’t say a word, just intensely stared at the man. “Let’s fix that little problem first,” the man raised his hand and snapped his fingers. He brought his hand back down and rested it near his side. Not even a minute later, Harry received a text from his mom asking if he was coming home that weekend for lunch with her and his sister, maybe have a family movie night too. Harry looked away from the phone screen and stared at the man in a transfixed awe.

It had to be a sham. 

But yet, his mother’s words were right in front of his eyes. “How are you going to help me?” was all Harry asked, he felt tired and defeated. The man stood there for a moment, he licked his slightly chapped lips before reaching into his dingy jean pocket. He took his time searching through the lint riddled pocket before pulling out a piece of paper. He then removed the many creases, making the paper appear neat and crisp. “Well, I’d like to make a proposition with you.” The elderly man coughed into his hand for a moment before continuing, “What would you do, if you could do anything you’ve ever wished to do? Travel the world? Purchase an expensive house, just live the lavish lifestyle?”

The man didn’t say another word and Harry realized he was supposed to answer, “Well, it w-would be nice to live life like the real celebrities, but because of the mark I’ve left on potential employers through my videos, I’m sunk. I’m essentially worthless to everyone besides the internet world.” Harry’s heart ached as he heard the words he’d kept inside for so long.

"Lad, you’re in luck. What if I gave you the key to happiness? Just two years of a lavish lifestyle? I’d give you a card and you can purchase whatever you desire. After the two years are up, the card will disappear, but your purchases will remain in your possession, no questions asked. Sounds fair?" Harry didn’t know what to think about the offer, there was something odd about it, it was almost too good to be true, "And what’s the catch?" The man looked at Harry with an almost creepy grin, "The terms and conditions are here on this paper." Harry watched as the man passed over the paper and he carefully accepted it. Harry read through each line, making sure he knew exactly what he was potentially getting himself into.

As he was just about finished reading the document, his eyes popped, the conditions definitely didn’t sound right. Harry looked at the man with a shocked expression, “And one of the last conditions, that’s really going to happen to me?” The man nodded, “I’m afraid so. You read the final condition, correct?” Harry slowly nodded, but the man made sure to reiterate the final condition, “In the case someone you fall in love with, a random person on the street, or even a family member asks how you live the way you do, you are not allowed to tell them. Understand?” Harry paused for a moment and considered his options, “And if I don’t accept the terms tonight? Or what if I do go through with it and end up telling someone?”

The elderly man sighed and shook his head, “You’re a smart boy aren’t ye? If you decide not to go through with it, I’ll allow for your family to not hate you for the video you made, free of charge. If you breach the contract after accepting the terms and conditions, then the second to last condition will be on your doorstep early. By early, I mean within the hour of it happening. After your two years are up and you have craftily found a loophole in my contract, then you may tell whoever you wish.” the man continued on while he attempted to keep steady on his feet. The old man talked about how life changing this single decision could be and hell, that was a lot on Harry’s shoulders. “My time in this form is about up Harry Styles, as I told you earlier, I have other business to attend to. I need an answer.”

Harry took a shakey breath, this was too much to take in, too much to handle. He needed to answer quickly because the man’s skin was cracking and a bright light was breaking through the seams. “I-I’ll do it.” The man carefully took the paper back from Harry and pulled an ink pen from thin air, like magic. The old man then held the ink pen, tip pointing towards Harry and said, “Let’s hope you made the right choice, we’ll see if you did or not. Now, place your right index finger on the tip of the pen.” Harry blanched, he didn’t want to, what if there was poison in it? But the old man was slowly crumbling before his eyes. He didn’t have time to contemplate. Harry placed his finger atop the pen and felt a painful prick and watched as it sucked a small amount of blood from his body. Harry quickly retracted his hand from the ink pen, and held it close to his chest. His heart was racing, his breathing heavy.

"Alright, we’re just about finished with the contractual process. Now if you would take this ink pen filled with your blood and sign on the dotted line below, my work here will be close to done." Harry didn’t know how the man could remain so calm, even more cracks and lights were littering his skin. He had to have done this before. Harry’s too far in to refuse to sign, so he released his hand from his hold and took the pen from the man. He hesitantly signed the dotted line and felt a strange force go through him. It was a tingling sensation that he’d never felt before and he didn’t know how to describe it. Soon most of the power had surged through his body and he suddenly felt weak in the knees. Harry collapsed to the ground and watched as the man hovered above him.

He weakly stared as the man fetched yet another object from thin air. It was the card. The card appeared to be shiny and smooth but he couldn’t make out the color in the dim light. The man held the card close to Harry’s hand, but whenever he tried to grab it, his arms refused to move. He was too weak. The man realized soon enough and carefully tucked the card inside Harry’s palm, taking care to close his fingers around it. “There ou go lad, you now have what you signed for. The date is December 4, 2013. I’ll be back December 4, 2015. Enjoy your new life, and remember, don’t tell a soul how you got the card. My work here is done.” And with that, the man was gone. He was literal dust being carried along by the lazy, winter wind. Harry couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer and fell asleep on the dirty, alley floor.

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

It had to be five in the morning when he awoke. The sky was still slightly dark, but he could see the sun poking through the horizon. His head hurt and he wondered why he was laying on the ground. Harry slowly sat up and when he noticed the card in his hand, the memories of the man and the deal he made came back to him. The process itself was strange and he was still wondering why he went through with it. Whatever the reason may be, he'd figure it out later. For the time being, it was freezing outside and his hoodie could only keep him so warm. Harry carefully brought himself to his feet and headed off in the direction of home.

-

The trek home was a lot longer than he remembered. That was probably because he was in London of all places and his childhood home was nowhere near London. He hadn't been home in about six months.

Harry usually crashed at a friend's. He tended to flip-flop between Nick's house or Zayn and Liam's shared apartment. He had money of his own, enough actually with all the views he obtained with each video, and his newly obtained card, but he just didn't have the heart to buy an apartment. Buying an apartment would only validate he had truly seceded from his family. Both Zayn and Liam had told him in the past, time and time again, that this wasn't truly the case, but no matter what anyone said; Harry couldn't seem to let his pessimistic thoughts leave his mind. It sounded a bit selfish the more he thought about it. He didn't want to be near his family, but wanted to be near them at the same time. It was just this big neverending conundrum, he was too transfixed on his faults from the past.

Harry first left home at the ripe age of seventeen. He wanted to be able find himself and create a better life for himself too. He didn't think he'd be able to find it being trapped in a tiny town. That's why he made the decision to leave. Harry still found the time to visit his family though. He usually only went over for the occasional holiday or birthday, but even those visits seemed far and in between. Harry didn't even bother seeing his sister due to his fears of being face to face with his mother. She wasn't so happy and accepting about the move, but he was determined more than ever to make up for the lost time with his family.

-

Two train rides and an hour walk later, he was nearing his childhood home. He figured that since he was wanting to be more open with his viewers, now would be the perfect time to vlog.

Harry reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his camera. His camera wasn't anything special if he was being honest. It was one of those low-end digital cameras but somehow had excellent video quality. He could buy a new one with his card, but he wanted to hold off from his shopping frenzy. He knew once he started, he wouldn't stop until satisfied, filling the void that was struggling to remain in check.

He looked to his left, and then his right, making sure no one was around to witness him speaking to a camera. As soon as he did though, he scoffed in disgust with himself. He'd been doing this for two years, if people wanted to think he was crazy, then so be it. Harry didn't hesitate to turn on the camera and wave at the lens before he before he spoke, "Hi loves, Harry here. I apologize for not uploading a video yesterday, I got caught up with a few things," well he was avoiding lying as much as he could anyway, "And I didn't have anything interesting to film and share with you. Forgive me?" Harry asked while he smiled at the camera. He thought to himself, Of course they'll forgive me. Why wouldn't they? "I'm actually on my way to my mom's house if you you couldn't tell by the tiny houses in the background. Doesn't look much like London right? Umm, I'm honestly a bit terrified because I haven't been home in a long while and mom will probably lecture me to death. And then my sister, who knows what she'll have to say. You'll wish me luck right? Anyway, I'm just about there so I'll talk to you guys in a little bit." Harry finished the video with a small grin and a wave before he turned off the camera and stuffed it back into his hoodie pocket.

He continued following the sidewalk, taking in the crisp air and partly cloudly sky. He allowed for the sun to soak into his pale skin and tried to not let his anxiousness get the best of him.

-

The earful he received from both his mom and sister was a lot worse than he had originally anticipated. They told him about the importance of staying in contact with family and how couch surfing was definitely not the way to go. Of course being related to two strong, independent women meant he couldn't get a word in edgewise and was forced to sit through the well deserved ass chewing. Later on though, his mom kicked both he and his sister out of the house as she mumbled something about bonding and other nonsense. Currently, he was sitting at a cafe with an assortment of sweets and expensive tea sitting on the dainty table in front of him. Harry stared at his sister with a smug look on his face, all while ignoring her confused look and began sipping his tea.

"So are we not going to talk about how you're able to afford all of this? Last time I checked, you're couch surfing at different friend's houses in London. Wait," Gemma paused for a moment, glancing over her shoulders before she turned back towards Harry. She reached a hand toward his face and ever so lightly poked his nose, "Are you a prostitute?" she asked with a smirk. Harry quickly removed her finger from his face as his cheeks went tomato red, "No Gemma and please don't say that word so loud, people are staring." Gemma only shrugged her shoulders in response and sighed, "Whatever you say."

They quietly resumed to lightly munching through their much needed treats. Though, the longer he sat with his sister, the more he noticed the small differences in her appearance. Her hair, it got slightly lighter since the last time he seen her. She had this newfound light in her eyes. She also looked like she was wearing a lot less makeup.

Harry had a lot to catch up on.

-

As they began to dive into their sweets, Harry decided he really wanted to get back at Gemma for embarrassing him. He knew she couldn't stand being filmed, so he pulled out his camera from his hoodie pocket. "What are you doing?" Gemma asked. Harry ignored her and adjusted the battery and checked the memory card, "Oh no, Harry Styles you better put that away. You know I can't stand that thing!" she was starting to sound annoyed and Harry couldn't help but giggle. He pressed the button that turned on the camera and pointed it directly at his sister, "Say hi Gemma, the world is watching!" his sister responded to this by pressing her hand to the lens, "Put that away. Now." Harry pulled the camera back and pointed it towards him, "Oh come on, don't be rude. They just wanted to say hi." Harry said as he moved the camera away from his face and began pointing at the sweets, "So we're at this little cafe and look at all the sweets we bought. Gemma enjoys this one here." he explained as he aimed the lens at a chocolate cookie, "And I like this vanilla one here." Harry said as he picked it up and ate it. He then pointed the camera back towards Gemma, "Will you say hi now?" he asked with his mouth still slightly filled with cookie. With a sigh, Gemma agreed, "Hi everyone?" Harry could tell she wasn't so sure about what to say, "Just for the record, I don't normally spend my days in cafes with this kid. I was forced, I swear," she started to laugh, feeling more comfortable with the camera, "And I should also say that my brother here may present himself as 'cool'," she jokingly made the quotation marks with her fingers, "But he's actually the weirdest kid you'll ever meet. Oh, did I tell you about the time he almo-" Harry released a sharp breath of air and cut her off. He turned the camera back towards him, " Okay, I think that's enough. Gemma says bye and I'll see you guys soon." he laughed. Harry turned the camera off and figured he'd edit and add stuff later so the video wouldn't be unbearably short. He looked over at Gemma and noticed she was pouting in her seat. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I was starting to like that little camera of yours." Harry looked at her with a grin, "A little too much, I think."

-

The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch, Gemma had asked him about how life was, she told him about what she was up to. She told him about boys she had met, all of which Harry figured he'd have to beat the shit out of until he found out about 'the boyfriend.' Gemma was seriously giving him a run for his money and god, he'd been missing out on so much. Nineteen years old and he made the dumb decision of skipping out on his family's lives. He really needed to make better life decisions. He figured with the power of the card in his possession, he could turn a new leaf and have another chance at making things right between his mom and sister.

-

"So, Gemma, I think we've managed to spend an unhealthy three hours here. What do you say we head home for the day? Harry asked with a small smile. Gemma softly smiled back and put her belongings together, "I think so too," she almost whispered, leaving a small smile on her face before she spoke up, "I'm done with school for the moment, so, do you think you could maybe stay with us for the weekend?" she paused for a moment, pursed her lips, "Unless, you have somewhere else to be? I mean, I uh, understand, seeing as your visits come far and in between." Harry waited a minute and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short, "Actually, you know what? Forget I even asked. A bit silly of me, I know." Harry stopped her there, before she could continue letting anymore nonsense escape her. "I'm not going to leave you behind again. I made some messed up choices, and I can understand if you don't want to trust me, but I'm going to stay and make things right between you, mom, and I. I'm not going to distance myself again, okay?" Gemma doesn't say a word. She only reached a hand out towards him with her pinky sticking out, she had a few tears struggling to stay within the brim, "This sounds silly, and I know we haven't done this since we were little but, pinky promise?" Harry lightly chuckled with a watery smile and connected his pinky to hers, "Yeah, pinky promise."

They eventually released their sibling hold and sat in what seemed to be puget sound. Gemma was the first to speak after what seemed like forever, "Well, we should really pay for this yeah?" Harry nodded and stood up. He pushed in his chair and waited for Gemma to stand up and come with him to the counter. She didn't take too long, she only had to check five times, yes he counted, to see if she had everything before even thinking about getting up. Once satisfied, she stood up, pushed in her chair and allowed Harry to lead the way, her feet followed suit.

"Hi, table two." Harry said to the cashier, who didn't seem to be much older than him, and listened to how much he owed her. Gemma's eyes went wide when she heard the price, but Harry didn't so much as flinch at the number. He handed the cashier his card and signed the receipt when asked. He accepted his card back into his possession, stuck it into his wallet and placed the wallet safely inside his hoodie pocket. Harry seen Gemma's expression but wanted to hurry out of there before she started asking questions that would even make the cashier question everything.

Harry hurried past Gemma and pushed the front door open, eliciting a bell to sound, and stood outside the building. Gemma soon followed and looked at Harry, teeming with questions. Harry didn't even know how we was going to explain -lie- to her quite yet. So, he picked up his feet and headed for the direction of home. Gemma wasn't done yet. She wanted to know everything. "Is that how you're paying for things?"

"A credit card. Really Harry?"

"Of all the things you could do, you choose a credit card to solve your problems?"

"If you want help, I can help, you just have to ask."

This went on for about ten minutes before Harry had enough. "Do you know what's for dinner tonight? Maybe mom will make us my favorite dish from when I was a kid." Harry knew exactly what he was doing, and he was more than positive Gemma did too. "Don't change the subject Harry, we really should talk about this." Gemma stood in front of him and refused to move. Harry sighed in defeat, "Do you really want to know what's going on?" He looked at her dead in the eye. She slowly nodded and waited for an explanation, "It's a debit card, first off. I have a job down in London. It pays well and I prefer to load a card with money rather than spend money I don't have and dig a hole for myself. Makes sense?" Gemma seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded her head. She also had a smug smile on her face, she had clearly won this battle.

-

Minutes had passed and they were slowly walking along the sidewalk. Neither had said a word to the other for the past ten minutes and Harry was wondering why. Gemma usually had a lot to say, but at that moment, she didn't. He allowed for it to pass and went on walking without a care in the world.

Eventually though, Gemma stopped in her tracks, grabbed Harry's wrist, and it was her turn to look him dead in the eye, "If you ever pull the stunt you did with mom and I again, I don't think I'll be able to forgive you." she had said it so blatantly to him, not caring about his lip twitching or the fact his eyes went wide with shock. Clearly, her tougher side had chosen to come out. Harry didn't say a word but nodded his head knowingly and tugged Gemma along. He smiled and pulled her to his side, shoulder to shoulder, and they walked back like that to their childhood home. Nothing but smiles and sunshine to litter their skin.

When they got back home later in the evening, Harry didn't hesitate to pull off his coat. In the process, he had revealed his latest additions pressed along his skin. Harry only received a knowing glance from his family before they all headed to their respected places of sleep. Harry took the time to work on editing the footage he took and made a decently lengthed video. He planned to upload it in the morning and doted off to bed, falling asleep when his head hit the pillow.

-

Harry made it safely back to London after a weekend home, with many promises to keep in contact and visit again within the new few weeks. His life after that was pretty mundane. He continued going through the motions of his days; Wake up, have a wee, wash his hands, brush his teeth. Stare at the mirror with his hands pressed on the edges of the sink, all while silently wondering where his life was even going. He'd walk past the boys' room and try to ignore the noises of morning sex, that seemed to be happening all the more frequently, and sunk into the couch and watch tv, not even bothering to attempt at breakfast. He'd remain there for the entirety of the day before finally getting up and trudging his way to the guest room and writing down his plans for his next vlog. Around sevenish was when the boys usually got home from school or work and that was when he would make dinner for everyone. He was limited to what he could make though, seeing as how no one bothered to go grocery shopping once a week, not even he bothered to do it. He'd usually try to add some flair to the cheap cup noodles sitting dormant in the cupboards, but even then, his efforts went in vain. He'd pass out the cups to each boy at the table and they'd silently eat before Liam and Zayn set their cups on the counter and glance back at one another. Both initiating and hinting at the same idea. Zayn would slap Liam's ass and wink before sexily walking down the hall, looking smug as Liam licked his lower lip and followed in tow. Harry would hear them giggle before the door slipped shut. The door didn't block out the noises by any means. He wouldn't go into detail about their sex lives, but Zayn was definitely a screamer.

It was one day though, when things seemed like they'd finally turn around for Harry.

It had been yet another boring, mundane day at the Payne and Malik residence. Dinner was over and Harry was sat on their soft couch watching a rerun of some show he used to watch as a kid. Harry sighed as he mumbled along to the lines he remembered and then, he had an epiphany. A horrible realization had set in. Theirs, theirs, theirs. Their stuff, their couch, their tv, their guest bed, their everything. Nothing in this apartment was technically his. He was just an organism inhabitiing someone else's home. He was merely existing. This wasn't a permanent placement by an means, it was just a small point of normalcy and stability before he was to make that next step to becoming a productive and responsible adult. Yet, he hadn't been taking any measures to getting to that point in his life. That's when Harry decided he was going to buy an apartment. He hurriedly got off the couch and practically ran to his temporary room, Liam and Zayn had offered it up after spending more than a month on the couch, and he scurried off to the closet. Harry looked for his nicest pair of black skinny jeans and white shirt. He even found his favorite pair of brown boots. They may or may not have had a hole close to the toe, but if he wore black socks, no one would notice(hopefully).

Harry was quick to throw everything on and even did his hair for once. He did a once over in the mirror near his bed before heading out the door, taking care to push a stray hair into place. He left his room soon after and walked out the front door, shouting a quick goodbye to the boys and telling them he'd be back within the next few hours. He waited for a reply but didn't get much of one. Harry shrugged and figured they were probably having hot, steamy sex, which he didn't really care to think about. He scrunched his nose as he shut the door behind him, ready to make the biggest decision of his life, as of yet.


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure this is the one?" the overly stressed out realtor asked for what seemed to be the sixth time that day. She was much too stuffy in personality and her satin red blazer and black heels looked too tight to be comfortable. Aside from the appearance of the soon-to-be-irrelevant-realtor, Harry knew this apartment was the one. The other five apartments he'd visited that day were just so plain and dull. They didn't give off the vibe he was looking for. There wasn't the ever-cliche 'wow-factor' he was looking for. He'd be spending a fair amount of time in whichever apartment he so chose. If it wasn't ideal to him, then why purchase something he's not emotionally invested in? The apartment he was currently walking through, practically screamed his name within the walls. The apartment itself was no normal studio. It was huge. By huge, he really did mean huge. 1500 sq. feet, all of which included a massive master bedroom attached with a master bath. The master bathroom had a whirlpool tub, and a shower with more functions than Harry had ever seen. The countertops were granite and the cabinets were a warm color, but not too warm. The tile was definitely a winner in his book as well. The living and dining room didn't disappoint either. The dining room had plenty of natural light coming in through the tall, windows. The living room had the same amount of natural light, if not more, entering the large space and craftily littered throughout the apartment. The London view was impeccable and Harry's favorite part of the apartment was the loft with a secret entrance to the roof. The realtor said it was a perk for the hefty price tag and for being on the 14th floor, the highest floor the building had to offer. The decision was definitely a no-brainer, "Where do I sign?"

And after a week of monotonous paperwork and packing his belongings into their designated boxes, he finally had the keys to his first place. His very own place with his own rules and his stuff to throw about wherever he so pleased. The feeling was great, euphoric. Of course, it was hard saying goodbye to the tiny apartment he'd come to know and love. The boys took it especially rough, even if they never did admit it, they'd grown accustomed to his presence wandering about their apartment. They were even willing to compromise by only having sex three times a week rather than the usual five to six. That was huge for them because Zayn and Liam always had sex and could never seem to get enough of it. As tempting as the offer was, Harry knew it was his time to leave. He was sad to leave though. He'd miss fixing Zayn and Liam cup noodles and watching mindless cartoons on their couch. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. And on his very last day of being a non-official tenant, Harry retrieved the last of his boxes and shut the front door behind him. Not even bothering to look back. He'd obviously return later to have cup noodles with the boys, just because it was closure to him. Closure was a good thing right? Yeah, closure, he'd definitely be getting that.

Dinner was uncomfortably silent. It was almost awkward, especially when they asked Harry how he'd be paying for his new apartment. The response he gave was a nonchalant shrug.

The boys took their time eating their food. Neither bothered to look up from their cup and sighed as they stirred their forks through nothing but stray noodles and salty liquid. Harry had just about enough with their moping though, it's not like he was leaving forever. He was literally moving a few blocks down from them. Same city, just a small distance between the three of them was all.

"It's not like I'm moving to america guys, stop being so, mopey."

"You might as well be," both boys mumbled in unison. Harry sighed and shook his head all the while lazily stirring his noodles around in the cup. "It's just a few blocks down though."

"Yeah, a few blocks too far. You could stay with us you know, it's not too late." Zayn spoke up. "But it is, I'm already moved in and have the keys. You're always welcome to stop by." Harry replied with a soft smile. Liam nodded in understanding and Zayn hesitantly nodded as well. Harry could see the signs of defeat.

The rest of dinner was sufficiently awkward until Zayn decided to bring up stories of the past. "To reminisce for old times sake." Zayn had said, and so it happened. Liam and Zayn took turns talking about how they first met him. Harry should've felt embarrassed or annoyed, but he didn't. The thought of them wanting to talk about the past was endearing to him.

Liam and Zayn said they first seen him in a library near the school they attended. Both Liam and Zayn forgot what exactly they were doing there. It was either to study for an upcoming exam or work on a term paper. Whichever the case may be, they remembered seeing Harry. Zayn started off, "I remember I had to go look for a book for class. I was seriously wandering around the whole floor for ten minutes looking for the damn thing. I remember being so close to the book and then, there you were Harry. You were all curled up with a book in your lap, just sitting there in your own personal bubble, avoiding the world and everyone in it. You had a small flush to your cheeks and your skin was pale but littered in dirt. You also had this smell to you too," Zayn smiled at Harry, and Harry wanted to say something along the lines of, _I couldn't help it you bastard_. But he kept the thought to himself and laughed. "You seemed so oblivious to the world and you looked at peace, even in those ragged clothes." Zayn explained before he sipped some of his cup noodle broth. Liam decided it was his turn to pick up on the story, "And then Zayn comes back and taps me on the shoulder. I was trying to ignore him, mind you, because I was trying to study or whatever, and I didn't even see a book in his hand. I tried my hardest to let him deal with it on his own, but no. He had to be a pest. I angrily looked at him and out of nowhere, he told me about you. What he seen, how he felt." Harry recoiled in his seat, not knowing that piece of information. It'd be nice if someone would've mentioned that to him two years ago. "No, no, not like that Harry. Jesus, Zayn was and still is with me you twat. Anyway, I let him lead me to where you were and we watched you read from a distance. Only for a minute though, we didn't want you to catch us and think we were weird stalkers. And after that first encounter, we'd purposely find excuses to go back to that very library each day after work or class, because we were curious about you. We were strangely worried about you."

"I remember you brought me food one day," Harry replied, carelessly stirring the last of his noodles with his fork, "It was so sudden, I didn't know what to think, really. Two random guys offering me up food. It had to have been a sick joke, but it wasn't" Harry smiled at them, one dimple showing, and got up from the table to put away his noodle cup. "Do you remember what we brought you?" Zayn spoke up with the biggest fucking smile on his face, Harry really couldn't deal. "Ah, I think it was. Oh. It was one of those box lunches with the sandwich and veggies. I even got an apple juice with the bendy straw." Harry smiled at them, he was truly grateful to have them in his life, "And I was so hungry and I didn't even bother to ask why or say thank you, I just dropped my book, as though it didn't even exist, and practically inhaled everything," Harry laughed, did he just say inhale? He hated all this mushy sentimental shit because he started letting things come out before he even thought about the mark it would leave on the conversation. "We got to know each other well after that. I remember you guys would come in everyday and would set your things down and just read or do whatever college kids do, and I was fine with that. It was nice to have company."

"And then for my birthday, after a lot of badgering from you two to know when it was, we ended up having chocolate cake and ginger ale. That was one of my more favorite birthdays." Liam and Zayn smiled at him, "We're glad we could make that happen," Liam said, "It was a nice time. The one thing though, that still makes me angry is that friend of yours. I don't even know how you can even call him a friend." Liam's face was turning the lightest shade of red and Harry's ears perked up in the process, "Who, Nick? He's a nice guy, just is a bit misguided sometimes." Liam only snorted, "But he would kick you out whenever he came home with a boyfriend or a cheap fuck. That's not the definition of a 'nice guy' Harry." Harry just shrugged in response and ran his fingers along the lines of the fake wood strewn throughout the table. Everything Liam said was true, but Nick had picked him up and helped him out, given him money, even offered him a place to stay. He may have kicked him out for weeks on end, but he'd always invite him back, always. Liam knew what was best for him though, it was annoying to hear Liam speak the truth though. Liam was like an older brother to him, Zayn was too, but Zayn was like the cool older brother who let him get away with more things than he should. Without them, he'd probably still be in the library, in hole-littered clothes, hoping the library employees would let him stay the night because of the cold. Harry really didn't want to argue about the logistics of Nick being a friend or not, so he let it go, "And the rest was history,"

"Yeah," Liam sighed. "It was," Zayn mumbled.

"But we can make new memories now." Harry mentioned with a teary smile. Both Liam and Zayn got up from their respective seats and patted Harry on the back, "And we will," Harry smiled and looked to the floor, "Thank you both for everything,"

"Anytime,"

-

It was late by the time he had left Zayn and Liam's apartment. After a seemingly awkward start to the night and reminiscent dinner, they had eventually clambered on top of the couch and laid on top of one another, their limbs tangled amongst them. They watched a movie or two, Harry being the one allowed to pick the movies they watched. He chose two movies Zayn really despised, but Zayn sat through them anyway because he was truly a great friend. But as the end of the night neared, the idea of his last night being in the apartment as an unofficial tenant became a rather depressing thought. No longer would he be allowed to just walk inside and sit on the couch and rummage through whatever there was in the cupboards. He'd have to knock like any other person coming by to say hello. Knock, he couldn't deal with the thought. He wanted to move out, he wanted to be happy, but this wasn't how he expected it to be. This was where his life really started to bloom. Where his existence was finally known and wanted by others. And yet, Harry was tearing himself away from it all. He knew he could start a new beginning, but he also didn't want to leave everything that he'd come to know and love. At first the thought of living on his own was exciting, but now that Harry's future was looking him dead in the eye, the concept terrified him. What would be his next plan of action? School started for everyone two months ago and there wasn't a chance of him getting in by now. He'd have to wait until the end of December to register and hope to god they'd accept him. Even if he did get accepted into a university, what would Harry major in? What would he possibly want to go to school for and be doing the same thing for the rest of his life? He just didn't know.

The late night had come to a close and he was kindly scooted out the door due to the fact both Liam and Zayn had things to do early in the morning. They did offer for him to stay the night, but if he did accept their offer, he'd be prolonging the inevitable first steps to being a productive member of society. Harry did kindly decline and felt soft arms encompass him into a hug before being softly scooted out the door and listened to the soft click behind him. And that's how he ended up outside the boys' apartment door, sighing as he looked down towards the ground, "Well, this is it. This is what I wanted. Right?" He obviously didn't answer himself back, in fear of someone rudely butting into the one-sided conversation with himself. Mainly though, because he'd come off as a major loon.

He eventually lifted his head and held it high, walking with confidence down the hallway, and down the three flights of stairs and to the main floor. This was all fake confidence, but no one had to know that. It was definitely odd walking through the lobby of the boys' apartment complex. It was surreal. It didn't feel real. He should be turning around and pounding on the door, begging to be let back in. He'd promise to return the keys to the realtor in the morning and put the apartment back out on the market. He'd pack his things and pretend that this was all one sick and stupid joke. They'd believe him right? They'd welcome him back, yeah? No one would question it, neither boy would fight his impulsive decision. He stopped near the front doors, looking through the glass and seeing nothing but darkness and street lights illuminating an orange light throughout the black streets. He pulled at the american flag bandana craftily placed on his head to keep his curls out of his face, and stuffed it into his barely-there pocket. All the while ignoring the fact that more than half of the bandana was hanging across his thigh. Harry tugged at his curls and didn't want to step any further. He didn't want to walk through those doors. He'd be leaving behind his past. He wanted this, but he didn't. Harry was so conflicted it was hard for him to make sense of anything. One minute, he was so eager to move on with things, the next, he was both contemplating, and doubting all of his life's choices up to that point.

Harry took slow and careful steps towards the nearest wall and leaned against it, his back sticking to his shirt due to his nervous sweat beading against his skin. He slid down the wall, allowing for an even bigger hole to be produced in the right knee of his black jeans, and sat in silence, staring at nothing but the blank white walls and taking in the musty smell.

-

It had been nearly a week after he had panicked in the lobby of Liam and Zayn's complex. Harry had to admit, it was pretty low of him. He wasn’t normally that way, everything just came out all at once. He was sure other people his age would do the same, his actions were clearly justified. He hadn't told the boys about the incident and he definitely wasn’t planning on doing so either. He didn't think they'd give him shit about it, but they'd probably coddle Harry and not leave him alone for at least a month.

Life on his own was fantastic. Harry’s apartment was exactly how he wanted it to be, dirty clothes were put where he wanted, he cleaned regularly, and the fridge was always stocked with food, real food. The boys had come over at least twice since he moved in. They would be there more often, but there were those distractions called college and work that keep them preoccupied. Since Harry wasn’t in school, he had been trying to keep himself busy with work of his own. He had been spending most of his time in the guest room sitting at his little desk and was outlining video ideas. He used to vlog daily, but the schedule had been tweaked to only posting two or three videos a week. To make up for the lack of content, he usually made the videos longer. The only downside was that he would have to come up with more ideas. What he currently had on his outline sheet, was an apartment tour and an adventure around london. He wrote down a possible meet-up and circled the three words. He figured though, that it would be best to wait until the weather was warmer, so he took his pencil and wrote next to the circle, _at a later date_.

When Harry wasn't keeping himself busy with videos or friends, he was virtually alone. This became apparent to him the second week in. He was laying in bed, staring at the bare ceiling with the moonlight dancing along his skin. There was no noise, just silence. There was no soft feet sneaking into a room next door, there was no tv on out in the living room, the shower wasn't running, and there were no sex noises. And hell, he hated to admit it, but he almost missed those uncomfortable mornings with sex practically floating through the air.

It was disgustingly quiet in his apartment, too quiet for him. He would get over it with time, he hoped.

Truth be told, he was lonely. He hadn't dated anyone since his awkward, early teenage years. If he had someone to hold at night, or let them trace the marks on his inky skin, wake up to early morning kisses, or have the occassional late night blow job. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he would be more content and grow to love the silence.


End file.
